After reading “Cicadas Sing of Summer Graves” last summer, I immediately jumped at the chance to read and review a new book by the talented author duo. And let me tell you, this book was everything I wanted it to be.

The story follows twin sisters lives, as they try their best to keep themselves - and the isolated, dying town - afloat. Lil takes care of the pecan orchard, as she always has, now more carefully than ever, as all the surrounding orchards keep falling to ruins. Sasha has returned from New York, and now does odd jobs around town, helping out everyone but her sister. The two have a rhythm that gets shaken by old friends and lovers turning up unexpectedly, truly testing the fragility of the life they’ve been living...

There is just something so cozy and comforting, and yet at times suffocating, about a small town setting, and the authors have once again managed to pull it off really well. It was essential in the story being told, the way characters fit together, the subtle - and then not so subtle - darker parts of the book. Speaking of which, the magical realism was a perfect and balanced blend, even more so than the previous book by Quinn Connor, at least in my subjective opinion (a good thing got better? it’s more likely than you think).

This was a short and well crafted story I would recommend to anyone looking for quality read during long evenings - while the book is set to come out in summer, I can only imagine the experience of reading this in autumn.. both dark and sweet, just like a pecan pie.

First of all thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for this digital ARC of The Pecan Children .

This was such a unique read and kind of gave me Where the Crawdads Sing vibes .

Be prepared to be transported to a small southern town following the lives of twin sisters Lil and Sasha , where we find ourselves lured into something mysterious on the edge of Pecan Trees and its dark and haunting , people are losing their homes and there is a realism that is playing with the sisters ...and an ending I didn't see coming !! 👀

I thought the writing in this novel was so well crafted and loved the character building , thank you Quinn Connor for this ARC, I really enjoyed this different and unique read !!

Am I bad for wishing this was weirder?

The biggest issue of this book is pacing, the first half ( until 55% ) dragged and I had to force myself to continue reading, only to finish the other 45% in a single evening. There were times I feared the authors had forgotten they were writing a horror - I've never actually seen a Hallmark movie, but the first half very much read like one. There was some foreshadowing sparkled along the way, but rather than evoking a sense of dread and tension, it just confused me.

And even then, the unnatural things happening were strange, rather than scary - with the exception of the "hungry man" who could have been much better built up. We learn everything we know about him through "telling" rather than showing, and we never actually see him do any of the implied bad things.

Without spoilers, multiple strange things are happening in this town at once and I actually liked the explanations we were given - but the authors didn't work hard enough to entwine them with each other. Perhaps, it would have been better if they chose just one to focus on and give more depth too. There are questions we were never given answers to and I wonder if it is because the authors have forgotten to answer them, or if they did so on purpose?

I don't think this is a bad book. There were many things that I liked ( the reveal about Lou had me sobbing ), including the ending - but perhaps it just wasn't for me? There was no character development, all the foreshadowing and even the mysteries just felt shallow. I wish the authors spent less time picking up pecans and more time building their lore.

3.5 stars

The writing and story are very good, a little strange in a good way. However, the pacing is all over the place and almost cause me to DNF
I love a good slow burn, but something need to keep me in the story and turning the pages. Here we have king moments of nothing, to finally getting a good bite, to nothing again, that good bite kept me going, but barely.

I really enjoyed this book - it felt eerie and kept me hooked and a lot of the twists were unexpected and very well executed.

THE PECAN CHILDREN is thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish. I especially appreciated the mystical and/or magical elements, and the author does a wonderful job of creating an atmosphere and making the reader feel like they are immersed in the story world. Essentially this is a story of two sisters who come together despite their differences. The sense of family bond is very strong and propels the reader forward. The small town life and value of land are portrayed accurately and emotionally. As others have noted, the pacing can be a tiny bit slow at times, but I appreciated how intricately woven the plot was and how everything comes together in the end.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance e-galley; all opinions expressed herein are 100% my own.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC. All opinions are my own.

The book is beautifully written. I found it slow at the start but it kept me intrigued enough to read on. I'm glad I did. The mystery drew me on and the pacing increases

I wouldn't classify this a magical realism. It's more of a mystical thriller. Whatever the genre it was worth the read.

This book was an unique experience for me. I was pulled to the story because of the pecan harvest which is something unique in itself, and yet, at first it felt like there's something wrong with the book. It was a little slow, and sometimes a little boring, and I thought that I would suggest that author needs to craft and correct it a little. But it all resolved somewgere in the half of the story. There was an interesting turn I didn't see coming and it turned out that it was worth waiting because from then on the story sped up and a lot of my confusions came out clear.

I liked that I never really knew when the novels was coming. It was an interesting read, very weird but neat in prose and, as it turned out, in a planning too. I would recommend the book for fans of magical realism, and weird, unique stories that you won't find often.

4,5 star but I will turn up to 5 :)

A wonderful, quietly thrilling novel set on a pecan plantation in rural Arkansas.
I actually grew up in rural Arkansas myself and we had many pecan trees on our property. I still remember my mother using them for so many recipes. This book brought that memory back in a good and compelling way.
Add in the mystery that always seems to happen in small towns and the harshness of families losing their homes and land and you have a beautiful novel.

I received this book as a digital ARC from net galley for my honest review.

First off thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book!! It was so highly anticipated and after finishing it I’m thrilled to confirm what I already suspected - Quinn Connor (Robyn Barrow & Alex Cronin) are new auto buy authors for me.

Much like Cicadas Sing of Summer Graves, The Pecan Children transports us to a sleepy southern town soaked in mystery. These books have such a unique way of making you feel at home in the world but also so very unsettled at the same time.

Lil and Sasha are twins who couldn’t really be much different if they tried. One is trying to live up to her mother’s expectations while the other wants nothing more than to run away and find a new life where she feels wanted.

Our setting is a kudzu (take a shot every time that word pops up) infested reality where children might fall out of pecan trees and a beast lurks in the shadows with a relentless hunger. I followed our characters along overgrown train tracks, dilapidated treehouses and buildings that seem to spontaneously combust then put themselves out in the blink of an eye.

Follow the breadcrumbs through this twisty tale of sapphic love, symbiotic connections, magical realism and more pecans than you can shake a stick at. But don’t stay in place too long… nature is very much alive and has the habit of coming attached if you stick around.

Atmospheric and Intricate.

I think this book creates such a beautiful backdrop and
I loved the imagery, and the family aspect which follows the two sisters who are polar opposites but have come together and bonded love and loss.

Also the storyline’s are so subtle but they weave together so well, the mysticism and the issue of the small Arkansas town is being bought up due to living on large expanses of land and these two competing forces that actually so closely aligned.

I wasn’t sure what to expect with the mystical, folklore aspect of this novel as it was very subtle and it left you clues along the way and does tie everything together.

I did think that was well written but it did take me awhile to get into it but I do think this is a great read especially since this is for fans of the midnight library and I adored that!

I definitely think this was an inventive and interesting book, but I think that it was a little too out there for me, and I don't think that I fully "got it".

I just adore these writers!! Easily an auto buy author (duo) for me!

Filled with an intoxicating magical realism and this intricate system of breadcrumbs that you start to realize have been sprinkled throughout, The Pecan Children is a beautifully written book about home, family, love and loss.

Set against the kudzu choked backdrop of this pecan plantation in rural Arkansas, Lil tends the pecan harvests year after year. It’s a time she loves, even though the town has been sold off piece by piece, bringing a sense of melancholy. When her twin sister Sasha returns home, Lil reluctantly incorporates her back into the work their family has had for generations.

But, something is lurking just on the edge… something much older, something darker… something that could pop their meager little bubble. With much love and care for the characters, Quinn Connor writes a deeply satisfying story, one in which I never saw coming.

In The Pecan Children, we follow more than just Lil and Sasha. There are other characters, there are other events happening simultaneously to pull all of this together so perfectly. There is this dark and mysterious lore to the woods and a responsibility passed down, creating this utter hold over me. I loved every single minute!